Broken Lives, Good Hearts
by ShushDarling
Summary: When Marinette was ten years old, she got involved in an accident and lost her ability to walk, becoming bound to a wheelchair. But when she was chosen to be Ladybug, she regains the ability to walk again while transformed into the super hero everyone loves. But she has a struggle dealing with her life as a hero, as a disabled teenager, and as a girl in a conflicted love life.
**Hey, just thought I'd let you know before you read, since Marinette can't walk, she and Alya sit where Adrien and Nino sit because Marinette wouldn't really feel like letting Alya deal with struggling to get Marinette's wheelchair up the stairs to get to their seat everyday. Because of this, Adrien and Nino sit where Alya and Marinette sit. Everyone else sits where they usually do.**

 **Also, the rest of the chapters are going to be MUCH longer than this one, but I was in the hospital, and during the long wait for people I've told I was making this, due to me having broken my arm in a couple places, it was hard to type as fast, so I decided to wait for the area near my wrist to heal before typing again, and I was in a rush to release the first chapter.**

 **Sorry, this took so long for those of you I informed I was making this! Also, PLEASE tell me on any overlooked typos through PM.**

* * *

I always took the ability to walk for granted when I as a kid. I just simply saw it as something that anyone could do, I never really felt grateful for walking since I knew how to do it. I never thought of the disabled people out there who can't have the most simple, normal things that everyday people had. But, when I was ten, there was an accident, and my views greatly shifted.

I was just a kid, crossing the street when the sign signaled for me to walk. Then there was the driver who was texting on his phone, not even glancing at the road. The rest is history. The doctors tried everything, but worst just came to worst, and I was paralyzed from the hips down. They had to do about five different surgeries on me. The doctors said that I was lucky to be alive... Ha, lucky... Well, why wasn't I lucky enough to have my legs working like they used to?

I kept thinking that there was a chance, no matter what people told me, no matter how unlikely it was for me to walk again. I guess you could say that I was just grasping at the thinnest thread of hope. Or in other words, childhood ignorance. I gave up on that so called hope after about half a year of being bound to a wheelchair. Reality just decided to hit me hard one morning, unfortunately.

I guess you can say that I've gotten a little too used to having a low self-esteem with my little problem, like I've become comfortable being different.

But, ever since I was chosen to be Paris's beloved heroine, things have changed a bit. I don't know how Tikki or my Miraculous does it, but it's magic so I can't question too much, but the moment I tell Tikki to transform me into Ladybug, I'm blessed with the ability to walk again. _Blessed_. But things go back to the way they were when I'm done being Ladybug for the day. I can't complain, at least I had my fun as a hero.

Alya snapped her fingers in my face a few times to get my attention. "Girl, do you need a hearing aid or something?"

"Wha... Sorry, I dozed off a little," I replied lamely. "What were you saying?"

She grabbed my shoulder and shook it a bit to show her frustration and said, "How is it that whenever I talk about Ladybug, you, I don't know, bug out on me?"

"Ha, well, I guess I didn't get much rest last night. Sorry." I sighed.

I barely got two hours of sleep. It was a long night dealing with some akumatized villain, and then there were the tidbits of Chat Noir's flirtatious remarks and gestures in the middle of the fight, which I brushed off and deemed unnecessary.

I mean, if he knew who I really was, there's no doubt he'd think that I'd just hold him back.

Well honestly, when was the last time you heard a fairy tale where the girl with the disability won the prince's heart?

Anyway, Alya kept explaining in an ecstatic tune of how amazing Ladybug is and how lucky Paris is to have such a heroic protector. I mentioned Chat Noir a few times to hear what she had to say about him. She mentioned how much she admired him as well, but she quickly reverted back to talking about Ladybug. I smiled as I absorbed her praise, and I felt happy knowing that she thought so high of me and Chat.

"Who gave the cripple permission to sit in an actual seat?"

Alya and I turned our attention to Chloe, who walked in class and was giving us a pretty disgusted look.

"Wanna say that again Bottle Blonde?" Alya threatened, raising from her seat with her fists curling up.

"That crippled mistake," Chloe said, pointing her accusing finger towards me. "needs to be in that thing folded up by your seat," she finished, moving her finger to point at my wheelchair folded and leaning against our table.

I'm able to get myself to class and everything, but Alya insists that I sit next to her rather than off to the side in my chair. Some of our classmates always offer to move me from my wheelchair to my seat, which I always appreciate. Though, sometimes it get's a little embarrassing.

"Just, shut up Chloe," Nino sighed from the seat behind Alya.

"What did you just say to me? Do you have any idea who my daddy is?"

Alya pushed back into the conversation and said, "Yeah, and I'm so sure your _daddy_ would be so proud to hear that his daughter is a stuck up bully."

Everyone's eyes were on her now. What was going through their minds, I had no clue. Alya turned to look at me with a look that said, ' _Well, say something to defend yourself!_ '

I shrunk back and looked down. As much as I hated Chloe with a passion, she was kind of right.

When I grabbed for the handle to my wheelchair, Alya smacked my hand pretty hard and glared at me a bit for giving in.

"At least the wounded dog knows her place," she sneered as she went to sit in her spot.

Everybody was looking at _me_ now for some reason. I could feel their stares burn into the back of my head and felt extremely uncomfortable. I put my head on the table's wooden surface and wrapped my arms around it. I felt a hand touch one of mine and looked up to see Rose with a letter in her hand in a pale pink envelope. She placed it beside me of the table and smiled, rushing back to her seat beside Juleka as the bell rang.

I hadn't even read the letter yet and already felt so much better. Rose was the sweetest girl in the universe, and her smile alone can make anybody feel happier when they're upset. She never babied me or anything, but she would occasionally slip me letters like this, and they were always simply one of the kindest gestures anyone's done for me.

The teacher walked into class and briefly said good morning before beginning class. She went on about the history lesson we recently began learning about.

After about four or so minutes into the lesson, the door burst open and I saw Adrien wearing a panicked expression as he stood in the doorway.

"You're late again Mr. Agreste," the teacher sighed, not even looking at the boy.

He apologized quickly before rushing to his seat beside Nino. I could hear Nino mutter something to him in a really disgusted tone, and from the corner of my eye, I saw him point over to the area where Chloe was sitting. Suddenly, Nino's voice became pretty harsh, and I still wasn't able to understand what he was saying. After he was done, I noticed Adrien sigh and reply to him with a softer hushed tone that sounded a bit hesitant.

I couldn't stop wondering about what they had been talking about, and I wasn't able to piece anything together.

After the class period, the bell rang signaling us all to get ready for our next class. The teacher quickly left to get the things for the next class she had to teach, leaving the class without any supervision.

After I packed my things in my bag, Ivan offered to help me into my chair, and I accepted his offer with a thanks. While he carefully picked me up, I noticed Chloe passing me, scoffing at the sight of Ivan giving me assistance.

She just sashayed out of class with a superior smug look on her face and sighed with pleasure as if my disability made her feel better about herself.

Ivan noticed this as he set me down and mumbled something about not paying attention to her, but god, she was being such a jerk!

I thanked Ivan and he replied with, "Anytime." and left.

Alya grabbed the handle's to my chair and sighed, "Ivan's right, don't let her get to you. You're better than that and you know it."

Am I?

No, I'm not. Alya may be my best friend, but she could never understand how bad it feel for someone to pick at you for something you can't change. That's not a bad thing though, I don't ever want her to feel like that, it's cruel. I know she has good intentions by telling me that I'm better than Chloe, but I just can't bring myself to believe it.

* * *

No one expected it. Our next class was going on like it usually did, but then there was a loud " _Bang_ " that came from outside. All of us looked to the windows to see what the heck was happening. Alya quickly got out her phone, turning it on to be ready for capturing the possible event that was about to unfold.

The teacher didn't even think twice before telling us all to evacuate and go home. I saw some girl outside the window of the school on top of a nearby building wearing a dark blue outfit with broken heart designs all over it, and with a bit more expression, I figured out that it was Mireille, and I was immediately intent on transforming. I knew she was akumatized.

I was ripped from my thoughts when my wheelchair was hastily pulled back from my desk and pushed out the open classroom door. Firmly grabbing onto the wheels of my chair to stop it, I looked back and saw Alya with a conflicted look on her face. I knew she was torn between getting to see the new akumatized villain and waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show, or getting me home.

Hey, if I was a die hard fan of two superhero idols, I'd feel conflicted too, so I didn't blame her.

"I'll be fine, just go get the next big scoop on Ladybug," I sighed with a grin tugging at my lips.

She told me she wasn't going to leave me behind for some petty superhero scoop, but I eventually pressed her into getting some epic fight footage recorded for our entertainment later. She could tell that I was really confident on being able to handle myself, and hesitantly ran off after giving me a spine crushing hug and telling me to be safe.

I let out a relieved sigh and wheeled myself into a close by alley and opened my purse, and Tikki quickly sprung out, and I was starting to get an adrenaline rush from the excitement. The anxious feeling I was getting, the tingling in my hands, the wideness of my smile, the fact that I was inwardly screaming with happiness, it was because I was going to use my legs once more.

"Tikki! Spots On!"


End file.
